Take-up and folding mechanism



C. F. MILLER TAKE-UP AND FOLDING MECHANISM Filed March 1, 1946 Feb. 14,1950 Patented Feb. 14, 1950 TAKE-UP AND FOLDING MECHANISM Charles F.Miller, Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Jacquard Knitting Machine 00.,Inc., Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of New York Application March 1,1946, Serial No. 651,239

4 Claims.

' This invention relates especially to knitting and like machines, andmore particularly to the takeup mechanisms, so called of such machines.

The take-up mechanisms of knitting machines direct or withdraw thefabric from the needles as the fabric is formed. The take-ups employedheretofore, at least usually, drop the fabric in a *heap on the floor,and beneath the machines where oil dropping from the machine can fall onthe fabric and soil it.

Speaking generally the present invention provides for delivery of thefabric to a spot out of reach of oil falling from the machine, and maydeliver it folded.

The accompanying drawings illustrate a preferred form of my invention inwhich: Fig. 1 is a I rather diagrammatic fragmentary sectional elevationof a conventional circular knitting machine with my take-up applied toit. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary isometric view of the take-up of Fig. l.

As will be recognized, the invention is not limited to any particularform of knitting machine of the type indicated. The machine illustratedis a circular knitting machine of a simple conventional form in whichthe needles I are carried in a stationary cylinder 2. For the sake ofclarity many parts of the machine have been omitted from the drawing,even certain parts necessary to cause the machine to knit, as will berecognized. From the needles I the take-up, as usual, draws the fabric 3downwardly, within the cylinder 2, the fabric is formed. Primarily thetake-up of my invention has at least three rollers providing at leasttwo bites through which the cloth passes; at each bite the two rollsforming it are placed sufficiently close together, relative to thethickness of the cloth, to squeeze the cloth sllfliciently to exerttraction on the cloth, or traction is secured at each bite in some otherway; and at least one of the two rolls of each bite is driven. Alsopreferably the intermediate roller of the series-(and each of them, ifthere are more than three rollers in the series) takes part in formingtwo bites, so that in passing from bite to bite the cloth passes overand is pulled tight to a considerable part of the surface of theintermediate roller (or each of them), and each such intermediate rolleris driven; this construction causes the intermediate roller and each ofthem to exert pull on the cloth and thereby supplement the pull on thecloth exerted by the bite. Thus there may be three horizontal rolls 4,and 6, at least one and preferably all of which are driven, and whichmay be carried by the shafts 4a, 5a and Ba respectively. The tube of 2cloth, flattening as it progresses, passes first through the bite formedby rolls 4 and 5, then underneath and tight to 5, and then through thebite of rolls 5 and t; it may then pass over 6 and thence, as in thepresent instance, out from underneath the machine.

Power for driving the three rolls 4, 5 and 6 may be suppli d by a motoror other suitable source (not shown) to a shaft 8, Fig. 1, and thencethrough a pulley 9 and belt I0 to the shaft 5a and roller 5, and shaft5a may be provided with a gear l2 which meshes with gears l3 and I4mounted on the shafts of the rollers 4 and 6 respectively for drivingthe latter, Rolls 4 and 5 are mounted to squeeze the cloth between them,and likewise rolls 5 and 6 are mounted to squeeze the cloth betweenthem. Accordingly rotation of the rolls draws the cloth 3 from theneedles I. In order to correlate the rate of cloth delivery by thetake-up to the rate of cloth formation at the needles I, the speed ofthe pulley 9 may be made such as to drive the rolls 4, 5 and 6 a littletoo fast, and these three rollers may be mounted for rotation in aswinging roll frame which consists of, say, side plates i7 and I8 andtie and spacing cross rods 1% and 20, and which is pivoted at one end,i. e. at 22, to a pair of arms 23 depending from the main framing of themachine. The weight of the roll frame and rolls etc. then establish theamount of tension on the cloth, and the incipient effort of the rollersto withdraw and deliver cloth faster than cloth is formed at the needlesl causes the take-up to swing upwards on its pivot or fulcrum 22 untilthe resulting loosening of the belt 10 causes the belt to slip on one orboth its pulleys to such an extent that the average delivery rate of thetakeup just equals the average rate of cloth formation. This actioncorrelating the roll delivery rate to the rate of cloth formation isquite similar to prior practices as will be apparent. The tension on thecloth can be increased as desired by adding weights 28 to the frame, e.g., by suspension from the frame cross rod 20.

Preferably the end rolls 4 and 6 are pressed yieldingly to the centerroll 5. To this end the shafts of the rolls 4 and 6 may be mounted injournal blocks 3% arranged to slide in grooves in the side plates i1 andi8 of the swinging roll frame and the blocks 38 may be pressed towardthe rolls and 6 of course. greater than this; if greater the ends of thearms For a given tension on the cloth 3 the combined tendencies of theroll pairs 4, 5 and 5, 6 to crease the cloth at the edges of its fiatform can be much less than the creasing tendency of a single pair oftake-up rolls. This is due to the fact that the tension on the cloth, atthe needles, is equal to the pull on the cloth between rolls 4 and 5plus the pull by reason of the cloth running tight against the lowerhalf of the roll 5 plus the pull on the cloth between rolls 5 and 6.Accordingly the squeezing of the edges of the flattened cloth by 4 and5, and by 5 and 6, can be much less than the squeezing by a single pairof rolls required to exert the whole tension on the cloth. While therolls 4, 5 and 6 are shown smooth in the drawings, it is to beunderstood that they may be provided with serrations or other forms ofroughening and cloth gripping if desired.

I prefer the foregoing mechanism for putting tension on the fabric fromthe needles, and for flattening a tube of fabric to sheet-form where, asin the case of circular machines, the fabric is produced in the form ofa tube. The reasons for this preference appear above. The presentinvention is not limited to such mechanism however as will appear.

In the present instance the mechanism which, per se, carries the fabricfrom the take-up rolls consists of one or more plates 35 fixed upon adriven shaft 36 which is journaled in the roll frame side plates 1! andI8 and which may be made with an enlarged center portion 31 forconvenience in attaching the plates 35. Two plates,

extending diametrically from each other, are adequate. To drive theshaft 36, it may be provided with a pulley 38 and this pulley 38connected by a vbelt 39 to a pulley 40 fast upon roll shaft 6a. Thus asthe shaft 611 turns, the shaft 36 and the plates 35 are turned also. Theperipheral speed of the plates 35 should be sufficient to carry away thecloth at the rate cloth is delivered from between However it may be slipunderneath the cloth suihciently to compensate. A cloth conveyor of thistype tends to fold the cloth delivered by it as indicated in Fig. 1.Speaking generally the smaller the number of plates 35 employed, down totwo, the wider are :the folds (dimension 4|, Fig. 1); the slower thespeed of the conveyor the wider are the folds; the wider the plates 35(the farther they extend from the shaft 36) the wider are the folds.

The plates 35 are shown herein with smooth, rounded outer edges 56, butthey can have roughened surfaces at these points, and in certaininstances this may be advantageous since such roughness tends toincrease the traction or pull of the plates on the cloth.

A device of such (one or more) rotating plates 35 can be used to conveycloth, or to fold cloth, or both to convey and to fold, independent of aknitting machine.

It will be understood that my invention is not machine, comprising atleast two substantially parallel cooperating rollers, at least one ofwhich ls driven, to receive the cloth in the bite between them anddeliver the same in sheet form, a. shaft disposed substantially parallelto said rollers and displaced from said rollers substantiallyhorizontally and in a position to be intersected by planes perpendicularto the axis of at least one of said rollers at the two ends thereof, atleast one plate projecting from and extending axially along said shaft,an outer edge of said plate being parallel to said shaft and in lengthat least substantially equal to the width of the sheet form of clothleaving the said rollers and power mechanism to rotate said shaft insuch a direction as to convey away from said rollers cloth fed from therollers and extending over the shaft and plate, said plate beingsufiiciently rigid to substantially support the cloth when the plateextends substantially horizontally from the shaft.

2. The combination with a knitting machine and at least twosubstantially parallel cooperating rollers, located beneath the machineand at least one of which is driven, to receive in the bite between themthe cloth coming from the machine and deliver the same in sheet form, ofa driven shaft disposed at one side of the machine and substantiallyparallel to said rollers and in a position to be intersected by planesperpendicular to the axis of at least one of said rollers at the twoends thereof, at least one plate projecting from and extending axiallyalong said shaft, an outer edge of said plate being parallel to saidshaft and in length at least substantially equal to the width of thesheet form of cloth leaving the said rollers and power mechanism torotate said shaft in a direction to convey from said rollers cloth fedfrom the rollers and extending over the shaft and plate, the plate beingsufficiently rigid to substantially support the cloth when the plateextends substantially horizontally from the shaft.

3. The subject matter of claim 2, characterized by the fact that twoplates project from said shaft, substantially diametrically oppositeeach other, and extend axially along the shaft.

4. The subject matter of claim 2 characterized by the fact that saidpower mechanism revolves the plate at a peripheral speed greater thanthe peripheral speed of said rollers.

CHARLES F. MILLER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Re. 15,901 Springthorpe Aug. 26,1924 206,651 Warth July 30, 1878 393,189 Stowe Nov. 20, 1888 472,900Millet Apr. 12, 1892 568,307 Meisel Sept. 22, 1896 850,855 Steber Apr.16, 1907 1,015,580 Nichols Jan. 23, 1912 1,436,302 Wheeler Nov. 21, 19221,613,196 Riggs et a1 Jan. 4, 1927 1,706,426 Vorck Mar. 26, 1929 FOREIGNPATENTS Number Country Date 70,136 Switzerland Dec. 11, 1914 454,219Great Britain Sept. 22, 1936

